I'm Rhett. I'm cocky because I can be. I've got it all: the looks, the money, the endurance. I'm the guy that every girl wants to be with, yet none of them have ever been able to tie me down. I don't do love. I don't do relationships. And I sure as hell will never do marriage. I'm all about the fast life and everything that entails. There's a different woman in my bed every week. My friends are jealous of me. My enemies envy me. Everyone wants my life. And everything in my life is absolutely perfect. At least, that's what everyone thinks. Everything changed the day, Clementine O'Hara told me she was moving away. She's my best friend. She was my first kiss in grade school. We share everything with each other. She's the only girl I haven't tried anything with because she's off-limits to me and my friends. Only, suddenly I'm seeing her in a different light. I'm Rhett and I don't let anything get me down. Then one night changed everything and everything I thought I knew was called into question. All of a sudden, being Rhett didn't mean so much anymore. All of a sudden my friendship with Clementine was in jeopardy and I wasn't sure what I was going to do.

Based on reviews I read and its high Amazon ranking, I expected this to be a really good read. I heard it started slow and Rhett was an ass, but that it picked up and he was redeemed in the end. Those were lies. It definitely started slow and Rhett was definitely an ass, but it didn’t pick up and he wasn’t redeemed.

The story is told solely from Rhett’s point-of-view. He and Clementine O’Hara, Clemmie for short, have been best friends since they were seven years old. Rhett is happy to see a different woman each night as long as he can come home (so to speak) to Clemmie each night. She’s always there for him and he definitely takes for granted that she always will be.

Until she starts making noise about getting out and dating. He’s used to her being focused on her studies and not looking at guys, so he’s thrown for a loop when she says she wants to get out there and start dating. He doesn’t like it. He wants things to stay exactly the same, and that can’t happen if Clemmie meets a boy and falls in love.

From here I want to say the novel is about Rhett realizing he has deep romantic feelings for Clemmie. The truth is more like Rhett decides he can do what he wants as long as Clemmie remains an innocent virgin.

Rhett is cocky and conceded. He’s gorgeous and the ladies fall for him left and right. He is constantly offered, and accepts, blowjobs from random women, though he never bothers to reciprocate. He’s selfish and immature. Plainly speaking, he’s an asshole. He does things like spend the night with Clemmie (sleeping and cuddling only) then calling a chick to meet him for breakfast.

“Did you just shower?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I spent the night at a friend’s house and so I just washed my face and brushed my teeth. With her toothbrush.” I stared into her eyes, unflinching. She looked taken aback but still she continued smiling.
“Oh.” She bit her lower lip. “Was that your girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend?” I laughed out loud. “No.”
“Oh. Friends with benefits?”
“She doesn’t give me any benefits.” I put my arm around her waist, eager to move the conversation away from Clementine. “That’s why I called you.”

He makes dates with multiple girls on the same night, then calls in a friend to take one of them off his hands. Like they won’t notice? In fact, he’s convinced they’ll be so grateful they’ll blow him on the spot.

I knew that the two girls would be slightly put out that it was a double date, but I also knew that once Tomas and I turned on the charm, they’d be like putty in our heads. Shit, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them decided to go down on me at the bar. I grinned to myself as I pictured Sally or Jackie blowing me under the table. That would be hot as hell.

It’s quite all right for him to get a BJ in an IHOP from a chick he just met, two minutes after they arrive (yes, that actually happened)

She dropped her napkin on the ground and quickly got under the table. I stared down at her in shock. Not because she was about to give me a blowjob under the table, but because she was going to give me a blowjob under a table with no tablecloth.

but Clemmie can’t kiss on the first date because it gives the guy the wrong impression.

What did she think she was doing kissing a guy on the first date? Was she crazy?

The double standards and hypocrisy are so prevalent I almost became immune to them. Add into it the continual use of “titty fuck” and the slut shaming and I was almost convinced this was a parody of a real romance novel.

I actually liked Clemmie and her refusal to take any shit from Rhett, but her quick capitulation at the end ruined her for me. What I really wanted was for her to kick him in the junk and move on to greener, and less chauvinistic, pastures.

The writing is terrible and it’s clear the book wasn’t copy edited.

I have no idea why the book is so popular or why it has such a high rating. I didn’t find much to recommend it.

I considered giving it an extra .25 star for the end. He decides he needs a grand romantic gesture to win Clemmie over and talks her brother into dressing up as a white horse so he (Rhett) can play knight in shining armor. The imagery of Rhett riding up her driveway on her brother was almost enough to boost the rating. Except, no.

1 out of 5

I live-tweeted this book as I read. I posted it on Storify (https://storify.com/bookbinge/rhett-by-j-s-cooper). Scroll through using the widget below or Click here.

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Rowena's 2020 A-Z Reading Challenge: 2 /26

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Rowena's 2020 Goodreads Challenge: 31 /52

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Rowena's 2020 New to Me Challenge: 4 /15

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